


Filing Kakashi

by Berocca



Series: paperwork [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon, Community: kakairu_fest, Friends to Lovers, KakaIru Month 2015, M/M, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 17:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4145829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Berocca/pseuds/Berocca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At first, the rumours and popularity of the man meant that Iruka had filed him away neatly in his mental folder of “Elite jounin – Hatake, K.” </p><p>WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE ORIGINAL NARUTO SERIES (BEFORE AND AFTER THE FOURTH WAR ARC)</p><p>Written for the Kakairu Month 2015 Day 15 prompt:<br/><i> Kakashi and Iruka have become best friends... to the point where Iruka really wants to see his friend happy. He tries to set the Copynin up with all kinds of individuals... until he realizes that maybe he might be the best choice.</i><br/>The fic is <i>very roughly</i> based on this prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Filing Kakashi

At first, the rumours and popularity of the man meant that Iruka had filed him away neatly in his mental folder of “Elite jounin – Hatake, K.” and had firmly placed the folder in his mental box labelled “Konoha – Not Vital Information.”

Iruka was not a close-minded person. In fact, he was proud of being known amongst his students as a firm but fair teacher. And so Iruka was the first to admit and accept that he was wrong about Hatake Kakashi.

Iruka had risen to the rank of Chuunin and had gone on a number of higher-ranked field missions, when Sandaime Hokage had sent him on a mission with the legendary man. It was usually around that stage, of completing five solo A-ranked missions successfully, that the Hokage assessed a ninja’s potential for promotion. Iruka had known that that was what the Third was doing by teaming him up with the jounin, and that Kakashi would be assessing his skills throughout the mission and would report back to the Hokage about his readiness for the ranks of jounin.

Iruka remembered the turning point in his life very clearly. It was also the first time he had changed his mind about the Copy-nin.

*

Ryoichi had sprung a trap. Iruka noticed a split second too late and cursed himself for not being able to warn him in time as he saw his teammate collapse in a puff of thick grey gas. To his other side, he saw his famous team leader execute a perfectly timed, brutal kick to the jaw that connected, sending the enemy to the ground with a crash.

Iruka hesitated to jump to his fallen teammate because his own opponent was fighting dirty. There were a thousand little things going on in his mind as he catalogued Kakashi looking for something in his back pocket, kneeling next to Ryoichi; as he filed the grin of his sharp-faced attacker who was rushing through a series of hand seals that Iruka recognized immediately as a mud slide; as he stashed away hurriedly the faces of the two unwitting civilian children who had stumbled into this scene and were now cowering in a small crater on the ground.

Iruka was trying to keep the battle away from the children, but the enemy had spotted his weakness straight away. Iruka’s mind pulled out files and documents of information that all screamed at him that the man was planning on drowning the children, using the precious seconds Iruka would waste to dispatch the fallen Ryoichi and give the Copy-nin a run for his money.

When Iruka registered the unnatural rustle of leaves ahead of him, he knew that enemy reinforcements were here, most likely called from the trap. He saw Kakashi lift his head at the same time to his left, brow creased. In the split-second that it took Kakashi to stand up, Iruka had snapped his mind shut.

Iruka’s mind was finally empty. He made himself the effective killing machine he could be, and cast a quick genjutsu that made the enemy hesitate for half a second, but that was all Iruka needed to smash his foot on the ground, sending an energy wave that sent the mud splashing towards his opponent.

With water on the ground now, Iruka wasted no time in using the strategically placed mud to transport himself behind the opponent and sliced open the neck. In the same motion, Iruka raised two fingers and released a wire trap that was summoned from the scroll in his other hand. The wires cut through the two enemy reinforcements before Kakashi could engage them.

Iruka dropped his arms, unable to look at Kakashi or Ryoichi. He knew if Ryoichi was in critical condition, it was his own fault for being too slow in the battlefield. His mind was filled with overflowing shelves again, each recording what he did right, what he did wrong, how Ryoichi was likely to be feeling if he wasn’t dead –

A grubby hand tugged his loosened thigh bandages and Iruka barely stopped himself from cutting off the arm of the little civilian boy he had saved.

Iruka looked down at the dirty, muddy face of the two children looking up at him with trust, and his mind recorded this in a precious file, to be kept and looked at later.

“Good work, Iruka.”

Iruka’s head jerked up at the unexpected praise. He had been waiting for a sound verbal thrashing at his incompetence, but Kakashi was looking at him with a detached, clinical appreciation for his skills.

“Taichou, but –“

Ryoichi chose that moment to sit up with a groan. He gave a weak grin up at the two of them before vomiting forcefully to the side.

Kakashi gave a one-eyed smile at Iruka before walking over to inspect the bags of the fallen enemy-nin, and Iruka was left crouching next to Ryoichi, patting him on the back as the two civilian children hung from his neck and shoulders.

Neither Kakashi nor Ryoichi looked at him with anything other than approval, and Iruka was free to think about something that had been niggling him for the past few months as he leaped steadily through the trees with Ryoichi on his back.

Iruka had been unsure of whether or not he was suitable for Chuunin rank, even though he had been promoted almost two years ago.

He did not have his jounin parents who had been through it all themselves already, who could have reassured him that he _was_ doing the right thing. He missed his parents who would have offered advice and support for the countless little things that mattered, like how spending the extra cash on the cotton-blend bandages was worth it. That collapsing on the couch after a mission, no matter how tired he was, took more time and energy afterwards than the effort it took to wash himself off before collapsing; That what he ended up feeling every time he sliced someone else– _releasing blood, cutting muscle, spewing soft rolls of intestine_ – to protect himself and his mission was…normal.

All he had to go on, through his genin years and the two years of being a Chuunin, was the Hokage’s watchful support, and the quiet understanding in his sorrowful eyes.

But Iruka wanted answers, or at the least _indications_ , that affirmed that he was doing the right thing. These answers weren’t coming from the Third, whose dark wrinkles deepened immeasurably as he smiled at Iruka. They weren’t coming from his parents, whose names marked the black stone in Konoha. So Iruka was left feeling as though he was just muddling through the motions of being an adult shinobi, and with each day he grew more and more unsettled with his seemingly directionless life.

But now he felt that he had reached his conclusion, as Ryoichi coughed some mucus onto his shoulder.

Iruka’s parents had been brought up in a different time, a time of war. Iruka had thought that they would have wanted him to be a jounin, but now, running through the trees with an injured teammate on his back, he knew with almost sudden clarity that he did not _have_ to be a jounin. And he did not want to be one.

“’m alright,” muttered Ryoichi. Ryoichi was two years younger than Iruka, at 15 years old. His relief at being carried was obvious but he seemed to think that he needed to appear staunch, as if he knew what he was doing.

And Iruka knew that this was the answer that he had been looking for.

That everyone else was just doing their best and that there was no clear path for adulthood.

The wisdom and leadership that he respected in the Hokage, who always seemed to know what to do, was only experience and a full heart. Nobody could tell him what the right way was because there was no right way, and as long as people were true to themselves, and did what they thought was best, they found peace and acceptance of the ticking of the world.

When Iruka explained how he wanted to be a teacher, Kakashi looked at him with deep regard and the Third’s wrinkles darkened again in a smile; but this time it felt like he was stepping into a soft pool of sunshine that was there all along.

Iruka was sure that his parents would have understood his decision and would have been proud of him.

It was around this time that Hatake was then moved from Iruka’s mind folder of “Elite jounin – Hatake, K.” to “Elite jounin – Acquaintances, decent”

*

The next time Iruka had to re-file Kakashi was when he became Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura’s team leader.

He was initially worried about whether Kakashi would be a good jounin-sensei, but before he knew it, Kakashi and Team Seven were on their way completing scrolls and scrolls of D-rank missions, with Naruto loudly complaining about how boring it was.

When Iruka asked Kakashi about how Naruto was doing, Kakashi replied with a sincere smile, reminding him how Naruto respected Iruka more than anyone else.

Iruka was left blushing at his desk, carefully storing that happy memory in the special bright orange folder labelled “Naruto – happy moments,” while also dusting off Kakashi’s much slimmer file and re-shelving it into a delicately brighter, more cherished folder labelled “Friends.”

 

*

Iruka trusted Kakashi’s judgement and his experience. He would know how to handle the Yondaime’s son.

Whenever he met Kakashi on the street, or at Ichiraku’s after Team Seven’s missions, or at the mission desk, or at the bookstore, Kakashi would smile and say hello. Iruka could always manage to make him chuckle, though he wasn’t too sure if Kakashi did that with everybody. Still, Iruka thought Kakashi was a nice person, and included him in his thoughts now and again.

That made it that much more devastating when Iruka heard that Kakashi had nominated his genin team for the Chuunin exams.

Naruto, that bright, brash ball of enthusiasm couldn’t possibly be ready to be an adult.

“Excuse me for interfering, but it’s too early for them!” Iruka tried not to yell, but the image of Naruto’s innocent smile made him louder.

“I became Chuunin when I was was six years younger than Naruto,” said Kakashi, turning to look at Iruka blandly.

“Naruto is different from you!” yelled Iruka. He couldn’t understand how Kakashi could even bring himself into this situation. “Are you trying to ruin him?”

Kakashi looked disinterested.

“They always complain during important missions. Putting them into a dangerous situation might be interesting,” he said. His eye pierced into Iruka’s. “Ruining them could also be interesting.”

Iruka was stunned.

“That was a joke, Iruka-sensei,” said Kakashi. Iruka thought he saw a flicker of something in his half-lidded eye. “I understand what you’re saying. You must be upset as well, but don’t interfere. They are no longer your students. They are my subordinates.” Iruka didn’t hear how Kakashi’s breath trailed off after he said his last word, but Asuma rolled his eyes.

Iruka was furious. Not only did he disagree with Kakashi, he was angry and had yelled in the room full of jounin and the Hokage. But before he could argue further, he was cut off by the Third, who gave him a quiet look of apology and approval as he gave him a chance to test the team for himself.

Iruka didn’t look away from Kakashi’s hard gaze, and Kakashi turned back to the Hokage, breaking their eye contact.

After the meeting, Iruka tested the genin as he was given permission to do.

All nine rookies passed, and Naruto had grown so much in skill that Iruka was shocked at himself and at the world for changing so quickly.

Kakashi was right.

Iruka leaned against the back of the tree, listening to Naruto yelling at Moegi’s “kidnapper” to come back. He realized that he needed to apologize.

When night fell, he appeared behind Kakashi who was sitting down on top of a roof.

“How were they?” asked Kakashi. His voice betrayed no emotion, and Iruka was surprised at how different it sounded to the voice he had gotten used to.

“So much for the preliminary exam,” said Iruka ruefully. He thought he saw Kakashi’s shoulders lose some tension.

“All nine of the rookies passed. Just like you said, their abilities really have improved.” Iruka’s voice warmed with emotion. What sort of emotion, he didn’t even know.

“Maa, but you’re right, this still isn’t enough for the real Chuunin Exam,” said Kakashi. Iruka could hear a softer tone in his voice this time. He was surprised by Kakashi again by his attempt at an apology, and Iruka smiled.

He was right, Kakashi was a decent person.

The lightly waving silver locks looked soft under the moonlight, and Iruka placed the memory into a new file, a personal one named “Kakashi”.

*

A lot of life happened.

Iruka had to live through the death of the Third, and though it hurt sharply still, he found that his special shelf of memories in his mind had so many treasured trinkets from the Third that he could freely share all of this love with Konohamaru and Naruto and rest of Konoha.

When Kakashi was walking home after the Third’s funeral, Iruka was the only one who could see the tense set to his shoulders. Iruka caught up to him, and together they slowly went around Konoha, up and down the Hokage mountain, ending their walk in front of the memorial stone.

Kakashi’s face was turned towards the stone, but Iruka looked at his friend, at how much suffering he had been through, and smiled at him; wishing he could show Kakashi all the bright little memories that he had given him, showing him how much Kakashi meant to him now as his friend.

*****

*****

*****

Iruka got back home from buying Naruto and Hinata’s wedding present.

It was a cold night, and even though he was in a good mood, Iruka couldn’t help but feel a little alone.

He could go to bed, he supposed. Sleeping away fruitless feelings like loneliness was the sensible way to go.

Iruka took his time showering, getting his long brown hair thoroughly shampooed and conditioned. He was allowed to have nice things. He was only 36 years old, though Naruto seemed bent on treating him like an old man.

He towelled his hair, sitting on the edge of the bed, and looked out of his bedroom window at the moon. Its silvery glow on this night reminded him surprisingly of an old memory, of soft silver strands waving.

This in turn somehow reminded him that tomorrow was Monday, and he had completely forgotten to bring home and mark some homework that he had collected last week.

 _Hells_. If he went now, he could get it from the staffroom and finish it by tomorrow morning. Or he could go there early and work on it before class. Iruka debated with himself for a little bit, but decided that since he was having such a restless night tonight, the short walk to school and back might not be a bad idea.

Iruka dressed quickly in a washed pair of uniform slacks and a shirt, not putting on his flak jacket, and toed on his sandals for the short trip.

The night air was crisp and fresh. He could smell the trees and autumn flowers, and food from the late-night izakayas. Konoha was still a busy place at night, though it was a little embarrassing running into newly made adults that he had taught, who were often grabby towards each other in public.

Iruka strolled through his village, and made it past the big maple tree in the yard, the one with Naruto’s pre-genin height still etched into it. Iruka’s eyes prickled when he saw it, illuminated by the moon and the soft street light, and he laughed at himself for being so sentimental.

He turned around from the tree to walk into the building when he noticed a low, flickering light in the Hokage’s office. Kakashi must be working late again. Ever since he became the Rokudaime, Kakashi had been extremely busy with piles of paperwork that he wasn’t accustomed to doing. Iruka made it a point to help out his friend, but being the Head Teacher at the Academy had its own share of ridiculous paperwork too.

Iruka took the papers he needed to mark from his desk and instead of going back home, he walked up the stairs to the Hokage’s office.

Kakashi’s silver hair poked out from behind the piles of paperwork on his desk, when Iruka walked in to his office.

“Iruka-sensei, have you come to deliver me from paper-hell?” Kakashi said, gesturing at his desk. His voice was warm and welcoming, and Iruka was glad he had stopped by today.

“Rokudaime-sama, I told you to sort this pile first, because that will make it so much easier. Look, it’s even stacked from left to right, so it’s obvious which one you should have gone for first.”

“And I told _you_ , Iruka-sensei, to just keep calling me Kakashi.”

Iruka rolled his eyes, but grinned at the sidestep from his scolding.

“Oh, have you got something for me? With my luck it’s most likely more paperwork,” Kakashi muttered the last few words as he leaned over to peer at Iruka. Kakashi’s eye widened. “It’s not really paperwork, is it?”

Iruka laughed.

“No, Kakashi-sama. This is mine, I forgot about it so I came by to pick it up when I saw your office lights still on.”

Kakashi’s eye narrowed slightly. He looked away and said in a light tone, “I hope you’re not overworking yourself, sensei. It’s Sunday night and you really should be resting.”

Iruka laughed heartily, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

“It’s funny you should say that, when you’re the one almost buried under these piles. Why aren’t you home yet?”

Kakashi gracefully slumped across the desk, the movement making him lean a little more against Iruka’s hand on his shoulder.

“The paperwork isn’t really the problem, sensei. It’s _this_.”

Iruka looked at the file at the center of Kakashi’s desk. It was the Mission Roster, which held the information of all the shinobis on missions, what type of mission they were on, how long it would take and so on, all recorded in Iruka’s neat and efficient handwriting.

When Kakashi didn’t say anything more, Iruka had to ask.

“The Mission Roster? …is a problem because… It reminds you of missions? You want to go on a mission yourself, missions are very important to you,” said Iruka glibly.

“What! No, I don’t miss missions. I’d rather sit on that tree outside and read my book. No, the problem is that it’s so hard to schedule everyone around Naruto and Hinata’s wedding,” said Kakashi. His typical drawl almost sounded like a whine at the end, and Iruka was surprised. His Hokage-sama was whining like a five year old.

“Well sir, I’m sure you’ve thought about everyone’s missions and calculated all the possibilities and everything, but I can tell you right now that it’s not going to be pretty unless you just make their wedding a mission. There, problem solved.”

Kakashi looked up at him from his lean on his desk with annoyance, hope, awe and denial all in one expression.

“But… isn’t that an abuse of authority?” Kakashi sat up again and looked at him with dark eyes full of hope, betraying the denial in his words.

Iruka chuckled. Kakashi really was a frontline soldier.

He himself was much more used to bureaucracy and politics, and he knew that this course of action would be perfectly acceptable and really was the best way to go about it. He was a sixteen-year veteran of village politics, after being taught by the Third and shamelessly used by Tsunade, and he reckoned he wouldn’t mind at all helping out another Hokage.

He grinned internally as he just hoped that Naruto wouldn’t need any of his help. Good thing Shikamaru was in their group. Iruka had been subtly passing on many essential, paperwork-related things to Shikamaru, and lately he had shared some commiserating, respectful looks from him.

“When was the date again?” Iruka muttered almost to himself as he reached over Kakashi to the other side of the desk, where he could see the wedding invitation envelope sitting carefully on top of a pile. Iruka took the envelope and pulled back, also picking up the Mission Roster and another piece of paper from one of the many scattered on Kakashi’s desk. He flipped through the pages of the Roster quickly, scanning the information that he had also in his internal files.

Absentmindedly Iruka reached over and grabbed the pen that Kakashi was holding, and used it to fill out the request form that he had located a few seconds ago. He wrote the names of all the shinobi that he knew Naruto and Hinata had invited into the correct box, and then reached for the official stamp, accidentally brushing Kakashi’s wrist as he picked it up. He stamped it in the correct place, and sealed the mission before putting it on the outgoing missions pile on the edge of the desk.

Kakashi coughed, and he had a light flush showing above his mask. Iruka glanced at him, worried that he was coming down with a cold. It was getting quite chilly these days after all. He peered carefully at Kakashi’s face.

“I think these piles can be tackled tomorrow, they’re not the tricky ones. You should go home, Kakashi-sama,” said Iruka, worry slightly tingeing his voice.

Iruka became alarmed at Kakashi’s face reddening more, and decided for him.

“That’s it, you’re going home. We can’t have you getting sick, Kakashi.” Iruka forgot to add the honorific as he briskly took charge. Iruka lifted Kakashi’s arm and tugged him out of the chair, surprised and worried by how tense he was.

Kakashi didn’t say anything as he let himself be led out of the office. Iruka decided to fill in the silence during the walk to Kakashi’s apartment with his thoughts on the wedding, the present he got for Naruto and Hinata, and how Naruto was a brat for calling him a father-figure when he had expressly told him a few years ago how he thought of Naruto as a younger brother.

Kakashi laughed out loud at that one.

“I actually wrote that on the piece of paper during the war, ‘ _I think of you as a younger brother.”_ He even told me how much it meant to him.” Iruka carried on, feigning disgruntlement. “And today he comes up to me and says, ‘ _I’d like it if you’d come to the wedding as my dad_.’ It’s like he’s purposefully putting me back into my place, reminding me how old I am.” Kakashi laughed harder. Iruka grinned back at him.

“Naruto’s always been an idiot,” he said fondly. His face turned slightly towards Iruka. “Nobody in their right mind would think you look… old.” His voice was low, ghosting along the cold air like a black cat in the dark.

Iruka glanced at him, trying to read his expression, but Kakashi’s eyes were shadowed by the thin light behind him, coming from the moon.

The dark shadows on his face and the light illuminating the white hair made him look almost ethereal; it reminded Iruka of Kakashi standing at the memorial stone, looking immortal, weary and disconsolately alone.

In his mind, Iruka gingerly picked up the memory that had fallen from his _Kakashi_ file, and placed it back in its folder. He suddenly had a strong wish for Kakashi to be bright and happy, loved by everyone like Naruto was now.

“Hnn. Naruto’s all grown up now, isn’t he? Getting married and all,” said Iruka, looking ahead at the street. “I’ve decided to find a life-partner of my own. I can’t lose to Naruto,” he chuckled.

Kakashi stilled almost unperceptively, but when Iruka looked at him, he looked completely normal. Kakashi glanced at him blandly because Iruka kept looking at him, so Iruka quirked his lips in a mischievous grin.

“I know at least three lovely kunoichis that have been pestering me to give them any job that entails going into your office, if you’re interested in getting a partner of your own,” said Iruka.

Kakashi sighed. The breath barely moved the thin material of his mask.

“You know how picky I am in a partner. Besides, I really don’t have time for it,” said Kakashi, looking up at the moon as they turned the corner before Iruka’s apartment.

“You might feel differently if you found the right one, Kakashi-sama,” said Iruka, smiling. “You would probably end up _making_ time for that person.”

Kakashi gave him a small smile, which made very small wrinkles on the corner of his eyes. Iruka bowed good night and Kakashi bowed back, and then he walked on towards his own apartment nearby.

*

 _This was actually working out quite well_ , thought Iruka, as he delicately sipped on a heavenly blend of tea from Kumo. It was a present from Reiko, the kunoichi who had been asking in a roundabout way for any errands to the Hokage’s office.

Iruka had been working in the Missions room last week when he asked her to deliver something to Kakashi, and she had been ecstatic. He had then sent her for all the things he usually did for Kakashi when he wasn’t teaching, such as passing on important messages, doing the filing correctly in the Hokage’s office, making sure Kakashi did his work correctly. This kept her running back and forth often, and she had bought this tea for him. Reiko was happy, Iruka was happy, it was a win-win situation.

Or, it _was_ until Reiko came shuffling back into the Missions room, teary and red-faced.

Two other kunoichis rushed to her, considerately and protectively blocking her from the rest of the nosy room. She sat down and sobbed into her friend’s shoulder as the other one patted her on the back.

The rest of the room pretended to be uninterested, and lounged around or completed paperwork as usual, though everyone tried to eavesdrop.

“He… he…” sobbed Reiko, hiccupping.

“Shhh. It’s alright. What happened?” said one of her friends.

“I went… to deliver some scrolls, and, and check if he needed anything...”

The two friends looked at each other.

“And?”

“And then he told me to…to get out and not come back until I learned not to sound like a caterwauling cat.”

The two friends shushed her and ushered her out for some soothing drinks.

When they left, Iruka groaned and dropped his head onto one hand, as some of the other shinobi snickered.

“Hokage-sama is as direct as ever.”

“Remember what he called the other assistant, Naoki? A maternal bobcat because she had a screechy voice.”

The other ninjas chuckled and shared their stories on their famous Hokage, but Iruka was uncomfortable and irritated. It did not sit well with him to hear his friend slighted, even done in a roundabout way.

When Iruka walked into the Hokage’s office without knocking, Kakashi glanced up. His arms relaxed when he saw who it was.

Iruka glowered at him, and placed some files down on Kakashi’s desk with a little more force than was necessary. Kakashi peered up at him through deceivingly innocent, smiling eyes.

“What have I told you about not being rude, Hokage-sama.”

“What have I told you about calling me Kakashi, Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka crossed his arms.

“You will sign these forms while I watch, _Hokage-sama_.”

Kakashi agreeably signed them. Iruka took the papers on the instant that Kakashi’s pen left the paper.

“And you will watch what you say to the people who admire you.”

“I wasn’t rude, sensei. I was just being direct.”

“Depending on the situation and who you are speaking to, being direct can be the same thing as being rude.”

Kakashi sighed and dropped his eyes from Iruka’s hard glare.

“Sorry, Iruka-sensei.”

Iruka had a strange desire to ruffle Kakashi’s silver hair.

“But between you and me, Kakashi-sama, she was a little annoying,” grinned Iruka.

Iruka could see Kakashi’s mask stretch as he grinned back.

*

The next two kunoichis and that one male emissary from Iwa who tried their luck at catching the Hokage were also unsuccessful. They didn’t come out of their encounters crying, but the tall, muscular Iwa-nin looked close to it.

Iruka took Yoshiro, the Iwa-nin, out for dinner and some drinks to help ease the pain (and to try and salvage some diplomatic relations). Yoshiro wasn’t half bad-looking, but Iruka found that he lost interest in the conversation, mainly because he talked in a bit of a monotone.

“I saw Hokage-sama fight in the war, you know. I was in his platoon,” said Yoshiro. He was slightly drunk. Iruka made what he hoped was an interested noise, and took a drink of sake.

“He looked so intense when he frowned, I thought it was one of the sexiest things I had ever seen,” he continued. “But he shot me down so brutally. I didn’t even mention anything unprofessional…I think,” he hiccupped.

“Kakashi-sama can be direct,” said Iruka. “It’s a feature of the Hokages. I hope you don’t take it personally because I, for one, feel proud that our leader has a backbone, as I’m sure you do as well with Tsuchikage-sama. Godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama was actually much more brutal with her words.”

“Do you know Tsunade-sama personally as well?” said Yoshiro, surprised. “I’ve only been working for the Tsuchikage after the war. How do you survive all their antics?”

Iruka laughed at that. “I’m actually a teacher at the ninja academy.”

Yoshiro looked at him in surprise, and then laughed too. “Infinite patience, I see.”

Iruka blushed, but then he saw a dark-haired man who looked familiar, drinking a few tables away.

Iruka rolled his eyes.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, but would you please excuse me for a moment, Yoshiro-san.”

“Of course, Iruka-san.” Iruka didn’t see Yoshiro’s eyes roam down his back as he walked towards the man drinking alone.

Iruka stood next to the wavy-haired man, who had a small beauty spot on the lower left of his chin, and crossed his arms.

“Kakashi-sama. I hope you’re here to apologize to our emissary.”

Kakashi sheepishly drained his glass and frowned up at Iruka.

“Iruka-sensei. I hope you’re here to apologize for making my life hell for the past month.”

“What?” Iruka was taken aback, but retaliated quickly. “Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but since you’re here, I will tell you what you need to do, and you will do it.”

Kakashi grimaced at the unyielding voice, and looked over at Yoshiro, who was watching this with slightly blurred interest.

“First, you are going to take that ridiculous wig off, and pull up your mask. And what is that, is that makeup around your eyes?” Iruka rolled his eyes again. “Nevermind about your makeup. Just take your contacts out. Then you need to walk over to Yoshiro-san, and chat him up real good because out of all the Villages, Iwa has the most difficult Kage right now. Tsuchikage is almost as bad as you, and we need this skill-exchange ten years ago.”

Iruka glared at Kakashi, who was picking at his sleeves.

“Go, now.”

Kakashi sighed and pulled his wig off, and raised the mask that was pooled underneath his scarf. With one hand he picked out his disposable lenses and got out of the chair to walk to Yoshiro, and Iruka followed him back to Yoshiro’s table.

“Yoshiro-san, Kakashi-sama wanted to drop by to see how you were liking Konoha,” said Iruka.

Yoshiro got up and bowed, and when he straightened, he scratched the back of his neck and smiled shyly.

“Hokage-sama,” said Yoshiro respectfully. Yoshiro then turned to look at Iruka flushed lightly. “I think I understand the brusqueness, now, Iruka-san,” he said cryptically. But then he smiled and waved himself off, saying that he was tired and would see them tomorrow.

Iruka was puzzled, because he thought it had been going so well. But seeing how flushed Kakashi was beside him, Iruka decided to call it a night too.

Iruka sighed on their way home, as they were walking together since they lived in the same area.

He felt like the day had gone by so quickly and that he hadn’t really understood what had happened at the restaurant, and this made him feel old.

“You’re so picky.” Iruka didn’t realize that he had said it aloud.

Kakashi laughed long at that comment.

“I already told you that,” he said.

“So far, I know that you like deeper voices, lean muscle and a silent type,” mused Iruka.

“You got two out of three.”

“You like higher voices?” asked Iruka, looking at Kakashi’s profile.

“No,” he laughed again. Iruka didn’t understand what was so funny. “I like deeper voices, lean muscle and a caring type.”

Kakashi turned his face towards Iruka. The dark eyes seemed as untouchable and alone as ever, but with a flicker of hope.

They had stopped at the big tree in front of the Academy.

Iruka looked at Kakashi, puzzled.

“And by caring, I mean worrying over how much sleep I get, what sort of food I eat.”

“But loads of people do that. Reiko actually made a whole dietary list–“

Kakashi continued with a slightly louder voice. “Worrying about the reputation of the village and the Hokage, getting angry at others for even the slightest ridicule of the Hokage… being caring enough to shed tears in joy when a special student wants him to be a special guest at his wedding.”

The moon was full, and it lit up Kakashi’s face and his soft hair sanguinely.

Iruka pulled away from Kakashi’s gaze with difficulty, and looked at the tree, where he could still make out the little line that marked Naruto’s genin height.

Long moments passed, and Iruka swallowed delicately through his pounding heart.

“But that leaves only one person that I know of,” he finally said lightly.

When Iruka looked up to meet Kakashi’s gaze again, he was ready for the intensity piercing through the dark grey there; and as he found himself leaning hungrily in for more, he wondered absentmindedly – as his mind half-heartedly flailed around his internal filing cabinet in a tidal wave of blinding emotions and sensations – why he hadn’t allowed himself to think of doing this before.

*****

_Epilogue_

“Kakashi, we’re going to be late,” Iruka called from the entranceway. He told himself that he was not fretting, but he couldn’t help but scrutinize both the front and back of his haori, looking for anything out of place. He noticed something in his hair, and grumbled, “I’m getting grey hairs after I started dating you.”

“I’m coming, coming,” said Kakashi, leisurely strolling out from the bathroom. “And it’s not grey, it’s silver. You know what they say sensei, couples look alike.”

Iruka looked at his… _life-partner,_ he thought with a happy blush. His blood and heart thrilled at the view of Kakashi dressed in a matching formal haori.

Iruka smiled at him, and still wondered at how it could make Kakashi flush lightly.

“Let me check,” said Iruka, and he lightly tugged here and there on Kakashi’s obi, and the fabric near Kakashi’s neck. Iruka’s fingers slowed near Kakashi’s mask, and he let his eyes flick very slightly upwards into the dark grey, warm gaze. Iruka didn’t stop himself from drawing down Kakashi’s mask and kissing his smiling lips, slowly and thoroughly, and trailing his lips to the left of Kakashi’s chin, lightly sucking and nipping the small dark spot before pulling away from Kakashi’s almost silent needy noises. Iruka pulled Kakashi’s mask back up to his nose.

Iruka took Kakashi’s hand warmly, and walked out of the apartment.

Kakashi made sure that their wedding presents for Naruto and Hinata were in his pocket as he left their home, and he wondered at how little effort it took to smile brightly at everyone who greeted them on their way to the ceremony.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. If you're reading this it means you either finished reading this fic or you couldn't be bothered and skipped straight down here! Either way, thank you for reading what you read. I haven't beta'd it so you'll probably notice all the mistakes in tenses and stuff.. I'm sorry ;O; 
> 
> Some ideas come from the official(?) novel [ Konoha Hiden](http://cacatuasulphureacitrinocristata.tumblr.com/post/119175229601/caca-please-make-a-masterlist-for-konoha-hiden-too), especially Kakashi's chapter and Iruka's chapter. gosh i love those two. 
> 
> IRUKA I HOPE YOU AREN'T LONELY NO MORE 
> 
> I might do a little...Kakashi version of this later if anyone's interested. I'm a total sucker for stuff like that. HEH
> 
> THANKS FOR READING HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT


End file.
